Jimmy Rollins

So, the season is only a little more than 25 percent of the way over and the Phillies already have had more players on the disabled list than they did in the entire 2008 season. With the addition of Shane Victorino (hamstring strain) and Joe Blanton (second trip with elbow soreness), the Phillies have had 11 players on the DL for a total of 12 stints. In 2008, just 10 guys landed on the DL. "It's tough," Jimmy Rollins said. "As soon as we think we might be getting healthy, we have something else.

PHILADELPHIA — When Sean O'Sullivan woke up Thursday morning, he was a Lehigh Valley IronPig in Toledo, Ohio. At 7:05 p.m., he trotted out on the field at Citizens Bank Park wearing a Phillies jersey. Less than six hours before, as he was getting ready to take an afternoon nap, O'Sullivan's phone rang telling him he needed to catch a flight to Philadelphia. With the Phillies trading Thursday night's scheduled starter Roberto Hernandez to the Los Angeles Dodgers, the club needed someone to step into the rotation and selected O'Sullivan's contract from Lehigh Valley.

A ball is rolling hard toward the hole and seems destined to be a two-out RBI single to left field. You can hear the groans coming from the more than 40,000 fans at Citizens Bank Park. Then Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins dives to his right and somehow snags the spinning grounder, pops up to hit feet and rifles a strike to Ryan Howard at first base in time for the out. For many shortstops in baseball, that would be considered a tremendous play. For Rollins, it's become the norm as he again magically turns the moans in the stands to roars and applause that lasts until he returns to the dugout.

NEW YORK — With the trade deadline approaching at 4 p.m. Thursday, the Philadelphia Phillies as they are currently constructed may have taken the field for the last time Wednesday when they were routed by the New York Mets, 11-2, at Citi Field. But first baseman Ryan Howard —- one of the players who may be vulnerable if the last-place Phillies decide to embark upon a rebuilding project — said he wasn't thinking too much about the trade deadline before, during or after the Phillies' latest loss.

I believe there is little argument that Jimmy Rollins not only is the best shortstop in Philadelphia Phillies history, but also one of the most magnetic sports figures in the city's sports history. His flashy smile and personality are fitting of the nickname J-Roll. His bold prediction came true - the 2007 claim of the Phillies as the team to beat in the National League East after the Mets the year before ended the Braves' 11-year reign of the division. His uppercut swing and early-in-the-count hacks drive traditional baseball fans crazy.

PHILADELPHIA - No matter how tired he was, no matter how much he craved the comfort and coziness of his bed, Jimmy Rollins powered on his laptop and started writing. Every day for almost two weeks, the Phillies shortstop kept a diary of everything that happened while he was in Uganda touring the country and meeting the Ugandan Little League team. "I didn't want to forget anything, and I know once you pass that 48-hour period you start making up stuff," Rollins told The Morning Call in a one-on-one interview before Tuesday's game at Citizens Bank Park.

Everyone was waiting for Jimmy Rollins to make one his famous predictions when he spoke to the media at spring training for the first time on Tuesday. Didn't happen ÃÂÃÂ well, not directly anyway. You've got to read between the lines. He blamed his missing Magic 8 ball. "Shoot, I don't know where that thing is," he said. But, Rollins did emphasize a factoid that was previously thrown his way. Since the turn of the 20th century, three National League teams have been to the World Series three straight years.

PHILADELPHIA - Past triumphs, experience and big salaries laid the groundwork for high expectations for Jimmy Rollins and Cliff Lee in 2012 and the foreseeable future. For most of this year, neither the shortstop, a former MVP, nor the star left-handed pitcher, a former Cy Young Award winner and current $120-million man, have lived up to the level of performance projected by their bosses or those helping pay their hefty salaries - the fans. Lately, though, they are playing up to their contract numbers.

Gigi Rollins has already told her son she won't be in Philadelphia to see him play Opening Day. For starters, she doesn't like to fly. She also has another date in mind for when she'd like to be at Citizens Bank Park. The date is Wednesday, April 26. It happens to be Gigi Rollins' birthday. It also could be the day her son, Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins, makes history. Beginning Monday, Jimmy Rollins' 36-game hitting streak is back on the line. Should he hit in the Phillies' first 20 scheduled games this season, he would roll into April 26 tied with Joe DiMaggio for the longest hitting streak in baseball history.

Stymied by Shawn Hill twice this season and three times since June 2006, the Phillies did what no other team has against him this year. They turned cavernous RFK Stadium into a hitter's haven. Ryan Howard, Pat Burrell and Jimmy Rollins all blasted homers off the sinker-throwing Hill, ending the hex he held over the Phillies. The bullpen produced another fine effort after another so-so start from Adam Eaton, with four relievers combining for four scoreless innings. Just call it another day for the surging Phillies.

WASHINGTON - Jimmy Rollins had three hits, two steals and drove in a run and Ben Revere had four hits and scored twice as the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Washington Nationals 10-4 on Thursday night in the opener of a four-game series. Rollins had an RBI single in the sixth inning to give the Phillies a 6-3 lead. Second baseman Chase Utley added a sacrifice fly later in the inning to score Rollins and make it 7-3 against Washington reliever Jerry Blevins. Nationals second baseman Danny Espinosa (two hits)

The Phillies have won five games in a row for the second time this season and made up four games in the NL East this past week. There's a new feeling when you walk into the clubhouse. "I don't know if it's a fire, but there's something going on and hopefully it turns into a fire," said Jimmy Rollins. Count A.J. Burnett, the starting pitcher in Friday night's 6-2 win over the Washington Nationals, among those excited. "Hitters are feeding off each other, starters are feeding off each other, bullpen's been feeding off each other," stated Burnett.

By Andrew Wagner, The Sports Xchange and By Andrew Wagner, The Sports Xchange | July 10, 2014

MILWAUKEE - Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins homered, and Roberto Hernandez threw eight effective innings as the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Milwaukee Brewers 4-1 Wednesday night at Miller Park. Hernandez (4-8) lost his previous three decisions and six of his last seven, but he was sharp against Milwaukee. The right-hander allowed one run on three hits and two walks while striking out three. “He did his job,” Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg said. “Roberto was very good. (He was)

"The time has been now for two or three weeks. " That's what Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg said after Philadelphia was swept in a four-game series against the Atlanta Braves last weekend. Sandberg was referring to the need to turn things around and start winning baseball games. If the Phillies didn't, they would quickly fall too far behind and with over half a season already in the books, not have enough games left to mount a comeback. A week later, after playing five road games - where they've played their best baseball this year - the bottom is starting to fall out. As of Thursday morning, through 84 games, this team had been shut out 11 times - eight of them coming at home in what is considered a hitter's park - and scored three runs or fewer in 43 games.

PHILADELPHIA - Two weeks ago, the Phillies went into Atlanta and swept the Braves to begin a season-best five-game winning streak. This weekend, the Braves returned the favor, coming into Citizens Bank Park and doing something they haven't done since September 1964 - earn a four-game series sweep in Philadelphia. Braves starter Aaron Harang gave up 11 hits over seven innings but the Phillies couldn't string enough of them together in a 3-2 loss. The Braves began the scoring in the second, even though Phillies starter David Buchanan struck out three Atlanta hitters in the inning.

PHILADELPHIA — The Phillies finished their seven-game road trip against two teams ahead of them in the standings with an impressive 5-2 record. Manager Ryne Sandberg gave a few different reasons for the improved play but mostly attributed it to putting runs on the board early in games. "[It gives us] a whole different energy," Sandberg said. "It's a message. 'Hey, we're going to swing the bats and score some runs. We have a chance to win today.' The pitchers can then attack the zone and not be perfect, pitch to contact.

For shortstop Roman Quinn, baseball has always been in the cards. Now, it's coming up aces. The native of Port St. Joe, Fla., dreamed of playing in the big leagues from an early age, eventually turning that into a true aspiration in high school. And while many others have embarked on the same path only to fail, the sense you get from Quinn, one of the most talked about prospects in the Philadelphia organization, is one of true confidence. "When I was 7 or 8, that's when I first sort of dreamed about it, and then when the dream actually set in was probably about the end of my 11th-grade year," said Quinn, 19. "My coaches kept talking to me, like you've got a real good chance of getting drafted and I went to the [Major League Baseball]

The rally towels that were handed out to the 23,653 fans that turned out to watch the latest installment of the improbable pennant chase got a real workout Tuesday night. The fans became whirling dervishes to help the Phillies erupt for a pair of ninth inning runs that produced a key 4-3 win over the Atlanta Braves that pulled the Sons of Larry Bowa to within 1M-= games of first place in the National League East. Many of the fans may be in traction today after performing an abrupt about face to celebrate Scott Rolen's game-winning single off loser John Smoltz.

Jimmy Rollins had his eyes set on the Phillies' all-time hit record since he reached 2,000 in Cincinnati in 2012. It is a mark that is extremely important to him, he said numerous times. He wouldn't consider being traded, at least until he owned the record. Rollins reached his goal and passed Mike Schmidt by lining Edwin Jackson's 3-1 pitch into right field for career hit number 2,235 in June 14th's 7-4 win over the Chicago Cubs. Immediately, he was given another goal to think about - making it into the Hall of Fame.